GW vs. VCU vs. NYMC

[kay815]

Hi All!

Some background on me -- IS in Virginia (currently living in Richmond), but family all lives in New Jersey (which I take into consideration some). Really my decision right now is between VCU and GW. There are things I love about both schools, but for totally different reasons.

Pros of VCU:

• In-state cost of tuition (nearly half of GW's price).
• Grading scale: Pass / fail
• Facilities are new and look wonderful; it's a large urban hospital with Level 1 Trauma Center
• Curriculum: 3 month preparation for Step 1, plus one-on-one board prep.
• Location: Richmond and VCU are familiar to me since I've lived here about 6 years and worked at VCU (this is a pro and a con; pro for comfort / familiarity).
• Cost of living: lower than DC; can find reasonably priced apartments within walking distance of the VCU hospital.
• I'm familiar with a number of medical students and faculty already at VCU, and having some support system already is certainly nice.
• Faculty seems to care about student success and support (although I'm sure this is true everywhere).

Cons of VCU:

• Location. I've been in Richmond for 6 years and I'm a little tired of it and ready to see something new / a bigger city. Plus, it's farther from family. **Disclaimer: I like Richmond and wouldn't mind living here another 4 years, it's just not as exciting to me.
• Lower ranked school than GW.
• The INOVA Fairfax program is dying, which is kind of concerning.
• Colloquially, it is a lesser known school compared to GW (not really that important).

Pros of GW:

• Location: big city, Washington D.C. is exciting (and I love politics), something new compared to Richmond, a little closer to family.
• Cool DC connections: 3rd/4th year rotations at Children’s National, the NIH, Walter Reed, etc.
• Great opportunities for abroad experiences and public health exposure.
• I really enjoy politics and healthcare policy, so it's a pro to have that proximity to Congress, track programs like Health Policy, Lobby Day, etc.
• Curriculum: 3 month preparation for Step 1.
• Higher ranked than VCU.
• Possibility of matching around D.C., and I would love to do residency in a big city.
• Probably has better research opportunities (don’t care about research as much).

Cons of GW:

• The $58,000 / year price tag for tuition alone. I do have some financial aid, but it doesn't bring this number anywhere close to VCU's IS tuition.
• Cost of living is much higher than Richmond, even commuting in.
• Transportation: likely will need to live outside the city and take the metro in to save costs, creating a commute each day, cutting off study time at the library, etc.
• Grading scale is Honors / Pass/ Fail.
• The hospital is nice, but seems a bit small compared to VCU.

NYMC - is an option, and I like that it's closest to home, but honestly didn't care much for the school / program otherwise. Just wanted to include it here in case someone has a left field suggestion!

tl/dr: VCU is much cheaper, familiar, and pass/fail, but also maybe too familiar and lower ranked. GW is exciting and new, close proximity to health policy, and higher ranked, but also super expensive (tuition and cost of living), with honors /pass / fail.

Am I missing anything significant for each? I didn't really include any match data -- I've combed over both lists pretty thoroughly, but I'm not sure how much stock to take in this because both are similar geographically with similar board prep time (but I'd love to be in a big city for residency, like NYC or DC). Plus, the match is so individual-specific, it seems silly to base my school decision in what others have done.

Anybody have advice for this decision? It would be much appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ishiningstar]

Seems like GW seems more exciting to you and will be a good choice since you are interested in health policy/public health. If money is not an issue pick GW. But if the cost makes a big difference to you then you won't go wrong in choosing VCU.

 

[kay815]

Thanks for the feedback! Money isn't the only consideration, but it's certainly a fairly big factor.

 

[AAAmeds]

Seems like you'd be happier at GWU as long as you can deal with the higher tuition.
Where did you see the $58k tuition? I thought it was closer to $52k..
Do you know what the requirements for Honours are? Can't find it anywhere on the web.

 

[kay815]

Seems like you'd be happier at GWU as long as you can deal with the higher tuition.
Where did you see the $58k tuition? I thought it was closer to $52k..
Do you know what the requirements for Honours are? Can't find it anywhere on the web.

Yeah, I also thought it was somewhere in the ballpark of ~ $52-55 k, but at the second look event, we were told the 2017-2018 tuition would be just over $58 k per the financial aid office... Quite a bit more than VCU's IS tuition, although I have some financial aid which knocks it down a little.

Not sure about Honors, though!

 

[citykid92]

I vote GW. You sound much more excited about it and DC is awesome. Also commuting in DC kinda sucks, I would definitely check out all your options before committing to that

 

[kay815]

Thanks for the feedback, @citykid92 ! I'm definitely weighing out excitement vs. comfort/cost right now.

Also, I see the poll results are pretty disproportionate to the responses on here. Does anyone have any reasons / suggestions for picking VCU over GW?

 

[750335]

Thanks for the feedback, @citykid92 ! I'm definitely weighing out excitement vs. comfort/cost right now.

Also, I see the poll results are pretty disproportionate to the responses on here. Does anyone have any reasons / suggestions for picking VCU over GW?

Based on your list, nothing about GW screams pick me over VCU.

Change of scenery is really the only thing I felt like GW offered that VCU didn't and only you can decide how much this means to you. Beyond that, VCU just seems to be a better choice in this case, and it is close enough to DC that you can still get all the DC perks without the heavier price tag.

 

[ishiningstar]

Based on your list, nothing about GW screams pick me over VCU.

Change of scenery is really the only thing I felt like GW offered that VCU didn't and only you can decide how much this means to you. Beyond that, VCU just seems to be a better choice in this case, and it is close enough to DC that you can still get all the DC perks without the heavier price tag.

I think they mentioned about health policy opportunities that GW offers over VCU.

 

[kay815]

Based on your list, nothing about GW screams pick me over VCU.

Change of scenery is really the only thing I felt like GW offered that VCU didn't and only you can decide how much this means to you. Beyond that, VCU just seems to be a better choice in this case, and it is close enough to DC that you can still get all the DC perks without the heavier price tag.

I was curious about how feasible it would be to get DC perks from Richmond -- from what I understand, med schools in this area tend to send students via activist groups (like the AMA) up to Capitol Hill from time to time, so I suppose the opportunities are there if you seek them out.

 

[Freudian Schlep]

I was curious about how feasible it would be to get DC perks from Richmond -- from what I understand, med schools in this area tend to send students via activist groups (like the AMA) up to Capitol Hill from time to time, so I suppose the opportunities are there if you seek them out.

I'm curious as well. It's 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive at best on I-95. There is a AMTRAK. But on a daily basis they are distinct cities, not twin cities.

 

[kay815]

I'm curious as well. It's 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive at best on I-95. There is a AMTRAK. But on a daily basis they are distinct cities, not twin cities.

The drive isn't too bad if you can time it right, but timing is key. I feel that there's enough to do in DC and Richmond respectively, though, outside of class/study time. Obviously DC has more, but I'm not so sure a medical student would have enough time to really appreciate the differences.

 

[kay815]

Curveball -- would anyone's opinion signfiicantly change if I was NOT instate at VCU? Let's say the tuition is then comparable, or even some cheaper at GW.

 

[Skittsie13]

$$$ trumps all, and the pass/fail is another bonus of VCU.

If the price is comparable it becomes much more of a fit thing. If you felt that you fit much more at GW and the price is similar then it makes more sense to pick that. But why would you not be IS at VCU?

 

[kc2919]

Hello! I recognize this might be incredibly outdated but I also am facing this decision! I'm IS at VCU and the price tag is so appealing. However I'm trying to justify the tuition at GW as it is such a great school. I'm just wondering, which did you choose and how has your experience there been?